Love Is Patient

This is the second post in a series of blogs based on 1 Corinthians Chapter 13.  It is based on the premise that love never fails but we do.  The good news is that we are given a list of best practices on how to love so that we stop giving love a bad name.

"Love is patient, love is kind."

Are you patient?  When your husband gets home late from work or your wife is late getting dressed and ready do you display patience or annoyance?  When you are trying to teach your kids to be potty-trained, how to behave, or how to speak respectfully do you do so with patience or frustration?  When the line is long at Wal-Mart because the cashier is waiting on a price check, when traffic on I-35 is backed up because some selfish numskull decides to wait until the last minute to merge right even though there have been warning signs for miles, or when your students keep asking you the same questions even though you have already explained the instructions dozens of times, are you patient?

If not, that isn't love because love is patient.  Not only do our actions have to show it but our facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice must reflect that of patience in order to truly display love.

You might be thinking to yourself, I'm not trying to love the cashier at Wal-Mart or the crazy drivers on the constant work zone known as I-35.  I'm not going to play the Golden Rule card here but I will say that practice makes perfect.  The more opportunities you get to display patience, the more patient you will become and can be to those you love.

Kindness falls right in line with patience.  Chances are if you are patient you are also kind.  Inversely, unkind people are typically impatient people.  Kindness and patience go hand in hand and like patience, kindness shows up in facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language.  Again, if you aren't displaying patience or kindness then you aren't displaying love.  You are failing in love and love is getting a bad name.

Here are a few tips that have helped me become more patient.  *Disclaimer:  These tips only work if you actually try them.

1. Ask multiple close friends, family, and co-workers if people would consider you to be an impatient person.  (If you don't like their answer, use this as an opportunity to display patience.)

2. Pray and ask God for opportunities to practice being patient.  (You will get plenty of them.)

3. When sensing the urge to become impatient, think of something that this situation is making possible.      Example...Traffic can mean more quality time with family, ability to make some phone calls (hands free of course), time to jam out to some tunes or enjoy an audiobook.

4. Ask your friends, family, or co-workers to kindly tell you when you are becoming impatient so you can develop new habits.

5. Enjoy some quiet with no distractions.  Practice patience for 10 minutes on your porch, in your car at lunch, or in your favorite chair without technology, people, or other distractions.

6.  Comment on others when you see them displaying patience to remind you of the habit you want to develop.

Love never fails...we do.  We cannot truly and correctly love if we choose not to be patient.  The only way for us to get better at loving is by practicing love and all of its characteristics.  Practice patience and begin to thrive in the area of love.

If this post challenged you in the area of patience or you think it would be helpful for someone else to read, please like it or share it on facebook or retweet on Twitter.  Thanks!

How have you learned to grow in the areas of patience and kindness?